In Virtual Reality News
July 16, 2024 – The Innovation Institute for Fan Experience (IIFX), a provider of training and industry content creation services to sports and entertainment organizations, has recently announced that 40 frontline workers, supervisors, and managers were the first to participate in a virtual reality (VR) training program at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Through a grant from Intel and support from Dell Technologies, the pilot initiative, titled ‘ASPIRE’ (Action. Study. Prepare. Inspire. Rise. Be Exceptional), was jointly developed by IIFX in partnership with PIXO VR. The program received additional support from PICO XR, who provided VR headsets, and the National Minority Emerging and Innovative Technologies Consortium.
“Thanks to a generous grant from Intel and support from Dell Technologies, IIFX is partnering with PIXO as they are focused on helping workers win at work, and their patented training platform can support this kind of scale,” said Dr. Lou Marciani, Director and Co-Founder of IIFX.
Designed to provide sports and entertainment workers with access to PIXO VR’s training content, the ASPIRE program utilizes PICO XR’s virtual reality headsets to enable learners to easily access immersive training and interactive learning experiences.
Aimed at addressing skills gaps and delivering industry-relevant education for the sports and entertainment workforce, training experiences include conflict resolution and other scenarios that are aimed at helping workers to grow their skills, increase their professional competencies, and enhance their capabilities for current and future work roles.
Sean Hurwitz, CEO and Founder of PIXO, commented: “Our goal is to partner with the best companies in their field, like IIFX in sports and entertainment, and together empower employees to win at their jobs. Virtual reality training increases employee confidence, leading to reduced turnover, risk, and costs. Training in a realistic, interactive virtual environment quickly gives workers the experience to tackle those situations in the real world, whether it’s CPR, driving a forklift, or handling conflict.”
IIFX stated that the ASPIRE pilot program will be delivered to four additional professional sports and entertainment venues in 2024, that host Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Basketball League, National Football League, and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
To learn more about the IIFX ASPIRE skilling initiative, visit IIFX’s website. To learn more about PIXO VR’s immersive training solutions, click here.
Image credit: IIFX
Related Posts
About the author
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.